Grammar – What is a Preposition?

A preposition is basically a word that shows the location of something. It typically means the physical location of a thing. If you want to learn how to speak English, you must know how to use the most common prepositions.

Check out these 3 images below that use location words:

1. The cat is on the table.

2. The people sat around the room.

3. The stars shine over / above our heads.

The words on, around, over and above all show location of an object in relation to another object.

What are prepositions of time?

We saw how prepositions were used with objects, but they can also be used to talk about time. Let’s look at the 3 examples below to get an idea.

1. At noon, we will have lunch.

2. In winter, it snows.

3. During the meeting, we had 3 people introduce themselves.

The words at noon, in winter and during the meeting are prepositions showing location in time.

Aren’t those last 3 examples prepositional phrases? Yes, they are!!!

What is a prepositional phrase?

(Preposition + Optional Modifiers + Noun, Pronoun or Gerund)

1. At + the dinner table

2. In + the night sky

3. Above + the heads of the people

What is a subordinate clause?

Basically, it is a type of prepositional phrase starting with one of these words: after, as, before, since, and until + a subject and a verb. Let’s look at a few examples:

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